


Hell, Yeah

by mothmanaintshit



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, Party, Reminiscing, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-15
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-30 16:09:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3943105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothmanaintshit/pseuds/mothmanaintshit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six years after the defeat of the Reapers, the Normandy finally returns back to Earth. Shepard survived six years ago, ending the threat the Reapers posed, and is now happy to see her family returning. The Alliance is hosting a party and award ceremony for the crew of the Normandy, past and present, and the crew arrived right on time for that party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I've Missed You

**Author's Note:**

> I need to stop going through old USB's. I keep finding old fanfic's I never uploaded. Why the hell didn't I ever upload this? It's freakin' adorable. Since there is a party mentioned in this chapter, I must have written a chapter two somewhere, yeah? Can't seem to find anything on this external hard drive. But there are over 700 .odt files on here so I won't start writing a chapter 2 until I've gone through them all.

Shepard stood in front of her full length mirror in her apartment. She turned her body from side to side, looking at her scars. She was in the hospital recuperating for a full year after Wrex, Jack and a few Krogan and Turian scouts found her in the Citadel wreckage. Miranda helped with her cybernetics, fixing what she could with what little what little was left after the destruction of the Reapers. Shepard was left with a slight limp on her left leg, some of the muscles being permanently scared. She now had chronic pain and a ton of discolored scars from the multiple surgeries she's undergone in the past six years. She had never been self conscious before, even with the scar that cut through her lip to her hairline, but she sometimes hid behind longer sleeved clothes now. Wrex tried to turn them into something to be proud of, she saved the galaxy, saved the Krogan, saved the Asari, saved the Turians, saved the Humans and what little was left of the Salarian's, Batarians, Hanar and Drell. She understood what these scars meant, she understood why she got them, she understood they were battle scars, but she loathed them. Because of the war, the  _harvest_ , she was permanently damaged—physically and mentally. She often wondered where and who she would be right now if the Reapers never existed. Would she even be alive?

She was pulled from her thoughts as her Omni-tool's video call notification went off. Shepard turned away from her mirror, walking over to her bed. She activated her OT and grunted, “Jack.”

“Shep.”

“ETA?” Shepard walked over to her dresser, pulling it open. As Jack continued to talk Shepard pulled out her Alliance Military outfit.

“The Normandy is landing in an hour,” Jack said, with slight static. Jack expression changed to annoyance as Shepard's face faded in and out on her own omni-tool, “You  _still_  haven't gotten your damned OT fixed?”

“I've been busy.” Shepard frowned, looking down at her other arm. The scars seems to stick out today—at least to her. Jack noticed the slight frown, a long sigh escaping her lips.

“Yo, Shep...I—”

“I'll meet you at the landing pad in half an hour. I need to do a couple things before I leave.” Shepard ended the transmission before Jack could disapprove, moving back over to the mirror. She took another look at herself, her frown deepening, and decided that she better cover up her arms and legs. She didn't want her crew to see her for the first time in years so cut up and scared. With that thought Shepard took out her longed sleeved N7 V-neck and her dark blue service pants, shoving her Alliance uniform back in.

* * *

Shepard jumped out of the skycar, leaving the door open, and ran threw the doors of the new Alliance facility. Cursing every time she put pressure on her left leg, she should have arrived sooner. The Normandy should have been here already, she prayed to God that they hadn't already arrived. The ass-whooping both Jack and Wrex would give her would kill her, literally. Jack might even ask Miranda to bring her back just and kick her ass all over again.

“ _Excuse me_!” Shepard pushed past officers and clerks before finally getting to the door.

“I'm here! I'm here! I'm-” Shepard bursted through the doors, stumbling to catch herself before she fell on her knees in between Wrex and Jack.

“You're late.” Wrex grunted, his arms crossed and glaring down at Shepard.

“People...In...Way...I...” Shepard panted, moving to sit on her bum to clutch onto her left leg, “Shit...”

“Shep?” Jack walked up next to her.

Shepard forcefully pushed herself up, shaking her head, “I-I'm fine...just a...cramp?” Jack and Wrex both looked at each other before looking back at Shepard. She couldn't even convince herself that her leg was alright. That was not a cramp, they all knew it. She still haven't even thought about how to tell her men about this. She had a hard enough time keeping it from Wrex and Jack in the beginning, though they've been stuck with her for the past six years and could tell when she even had a headache.

“You've been in contact with Joker,right? So he knows about  _everything_?” Jack crossed her arms.

“Not  _everything_.” Shepard sheepishly smiled, placing her palms on her waist.

“Haha...Garrus is gonna be pissed.” Wrex smirked, crossing his arms.

“A-hah, A-hah,” Shepard laughed sarcastically and punched Wrex's shoulder, “Shaddap. I'll tell everyone after the party tonight. I can't have them worrying, I don't want them to worry. I haven't seen them in six years—the last thing they need is to be reminded about the full year they thought I was dead.”

Wrex rubbed his shoulder and mumbled, “For your sake, I hope they don't kick your ass...”

“They won't...can't. I'll play the 'I saved the galaxy' card.” Shepard smirked, crossing her arms.

“They should have been here by now.” Jack pulled her hair out of her pony tail, leaning over to retie it. Shepard chewed on her lip, her brows furrowed as her mind started to turn to her crew. How would they even react to her? Joker, she assumed, would be pissed. Liara as well. Kaiden too. Tali most definitely. James would want to compare scars. Garrus would just be relieved that it wasn't anything worse than scars and more cybernetics and chronic pain and nightmares…

“I should have told them.” Shepard groaned, putting her face in her palms. “ _Shit_.”

“Normandy approaching!” Jack called out as she ran further down the landing pad. Wrex looked at Shepard who longingly looked at the descending Normandy. Deja vu swirled in her mind, seeing the shiny battle ship she had commanded fly over the ocean again. She remembers how relieved she was to see the Normandy when Earth was attacked but felt her heart skip a beat as she remembered the last. She had taken EDI and Garrus were with her when they headed for the Conduit...when she said goodbye to Garrus, what they both thought was forever.

_EDI pulled Garrus aboard the Normandy. Garrus had been badly injured by Harbingers beams, clutching onto his abdomen as blue bleed pooled through his fingers._

“ _We're in this till the end.” Garrus spoke through his pain, his eyes showed sadness and anger as Shepard took a few steps back. Her eyes darted from Harbinger to Garrus._

“ _No matter what happens here...” Shepard tried to control her tone as she took a few steps toward Garrus, refusing to lose eye contact with him as she spoke, “...you know I love you. I always have, and always will.” Shepard placed her hand on Garrus' cheek, lightly rubbing her thumb against his mandible._

_His talons were around her hand in a second, his breath labored, “Shepard, I...” She knew he saw the tears well up in her eyes, just as she knew EDI saw them when she forced herself to look away. Garrus leaned into her touch before Shepard took a step back._

“ _I love you too.” He spoke before Shepard was off of the Normandy. His hand reached out to her as she stepped back, her gaze turning to Harbinger as it readied it's laser beams._

“ _Go!” Shepard commanded, her voice hard, motioning towards the Normandy before starting to run towards the Conduit._

Wrex huffed, knocking her out of her thoughts. Before she knew it, Wrex threw her over his shoulder and started charging towards the Normandy, “Come on, pyjak!”

Wrex caught up with Jack as the Normandy landed on the pad. Wrex set Shepard down as she mouthed a 'thank you.' He nodded his head and looked up at the Normandy as it's shuttle bay door opened. Shepard held her breath as the bay doors slowly opened.

“You'd think they would upgrade the doors by now,” Jack mumbled, getting tired of the suspense.

As the shuttle door finally hit the ground, all anyone could do was stare. After 6 years of not seeing each other...Shepard could feel the tears prick her eyes as she saw her friends again. The people who she went through hell with, survived through hell with...She quickly took off toward everyone, not caring about the searing pain in her body. She could hear Jack and Wrex behind her.

“I bet I can make it there before you two bitch babies!” Jack called as she started to pass Wrex and Shepard. Shepard could care less as both Jack and Wrex passed her. The tears where falling out of her eyes as she finally felt the Normandy's metal under her feet again, her crew starting running towards them all—save for Joker, who slowly walked down the ramp with a purple glowing drone following close behind him.

“Shepard!”

 _Garrus..._ Shepard closed her eyes as she jumped into Garrus' arms. A cry of happiness escaped her lips as she clutching onto him for dear life.

“Shepard, I—” Shepard cut Garrus off, planting her lips against his.

“Look's like the Commander has other things in mind besides  _talking_.” Joker joked, catching up with the crew.

“I'm not letting you go, you are not talking and anyone who tried to ruin this perfect moment will die.” Shepard pulled away, a teasing smile on her lips as she glared at the rest of her crew.

Garrus' mandibles twitched in amusement, “I've missed you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Shepard felt sick, but a good kind. Walking around the Normandy again, seeing her crew _alive_ meant the world to her. When she activated the Crucible, flashes of her friends and family flashed through her mind. She knew, as long as the Reapers were gone, they would be okay. _She_ would be okay. But now, as she's hugging and shaking hands with her crew, she knew that some of them wouldn't have been okay. Kaidan was torn, she could see he was trying to stay professional as he walked around the Normandy with her, she could see him turn away whenever she would speak to a crew member to compose himself. Tali was a mess, a giddy-jumpy-overly happy mess, a sight Shepard never thought to see again.

“Keelah, Shepard!” Tali bounced around the shuttle bay, shifting from foot to foot before Shepard pulled her into a hug.

“It's been too long, Tali.”

“Never again,” Tali pulled away and poked Shepard's shoulder, “You are never allowed to die—I could barely handle it the first time. This time it was easier—but then your N7 soldiers found us and... _Never. Again._ Understood?”

Shepard rubbed the spot Tali poked, inwardly screaming, but she ignored the pain and smiled, laughing, “Never again. I promise.”

James was an amusing sight. He, unlike Kaidan, decided to 'fuck emotions' and pulled Shepard into a bear hug. Shepard was able to pull James off of her before he hurt her, quickly composing himself and speaking about the N7 program.

“So,” James rubbed the back of her neck, clearing his throat, “Lola, looks like you're officially my commanding officer for my N7 training.”

Shepard nodded, crossing her arms and shifting her weight onto her left leg, “It would seem so, Vega—training starts next month, hope you're ready to get your ass back in shape.”

“My ass isn't out of shape.” James looked past Shepard as Kaidan chuckled, “Kaidan?”

“N-No, nothing.” Kaidan cleared his throat, glancing at Joker as they both started to laugh.

“You two want to join?” Shepard turned around and look at the two, “I don't mind reteaching you, Kaidan. Your ass is out of shape, too. As I recall, I had to save your ass, _twice_ , during the battle on Earth.”

“Remember that I helped, Shepard.” Joker chimed in, moving away from Kaidan and over to Shepard.

Liara came up next, with the purple drone.

“This EDI?” Shepard asked, tilting her head toward the drone.

“Yes,” Liara nodded, “It's been hard trying to get her back to her normal self. For now I'm just getting her to work as a drone—I don't have the correct tech to place her fully back within the Normandy yet, but since you were able to at least rebuild her body, she'll be hooked back up in no time.”

“Hello, Shepard.” The drone bobbed up and down, lighting up as EDI's voice emitted from it.

“It's good to see you again, EDI. Bet you can't wait to get out of that form.” Shepard joked.

“You have no idea, Shepard.” EDI's voice was annoyed, “I am happy that I am fully functional again, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss having a mobile platform.”

“Soon, EDI. I'm personally overseeing the project and now that Liara and Tali are here, you're body will be ready within the next couple of months.” Shepard smiled, wrapping her arm around Liara's shoulder. Liara lightly laughed before pulled Shepard into a hug.

“You died, _again_.” Liara crossed her arms once the two pulled away from each other.

“Yeah, well,” Shepard rolled her shoulders back, glaring at the floor, “War does that to you.”

“I'm just happy I didn't have to go on a suicide mission to retrieve you body, again.” Liara joked, a taunting smile on her lips.

“I dunno, T'Soni. I'm still young, who knows what the rest of my life will have in store.” Shepard joked, shrugging her shoulders.

“How are you feeling?” Liara asked, looking down at Shepard's leg, “From the way you've been walking, I'm guessing your still healing?”

Shepard looked down at her leg before straightening up, “Y—Yeah. Physical Therapy five times a week, weekly psych eval's, the usual when walking back from hell.”

Liara frowned, gazing at Shepard, “When reports came in that they couldn't find you...everyone was at a loss, even Javik. You can see already how people seeing you walking on the Normandy again is making the emotions spill out of us. Garrus he...he kept us together—kept our heads on straight. Most of the crew was already in their stasis pods, we kept the most essential crew members to be placed with us. We got EDI running in time to at least hook her up to control the ship while we were in stasis and...Oh, Shepard.”

Liara turned her head away, covered her mouth as a sob escaped her lips. Shepard placed a hand on Liara's shoulder, guiding her to her and pulling her into a hug, “It's okay, Liara.” Liara wrapped her arms around Shepard, her grip tight, as she cried into her Commander shoulder blade. Liara mumbled over and over that she was sorry, Shepard replied with a soothing laugh and rubbed Liara's back.

“We won, Liara. It's over.” Shepard said once Liara let go of her.

“Yes,” Liara smiled, wiping away her tears, “Finally.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**SLIGHTLY NSFW CHAPTER**

Shepard tilted her head and pressed her palm against the fish tank in her old cabin. Her fish and space Hamster were, sadly, gone. Garrus and the others had the unpleasant experience of fished out the fish, changing to water, and then getting rid of the dead hamster. Garrus stood behind her, watching her carefully. Jack and Wrex took the rest of her crew back to her overly large apartment. Garrus choose to stay behind, walking with Shepard around the rest of the Normandy.

“How long were you in the stasis pods before the my team found you?” Shepard asked, her fingers trailing down the tank.

“A little over two years.” Garrus shrugged, “You still have us beat by a couple days.”

Shepard laughed, turning and moving around the room. So many years has gone by but it feels like she was just here. Nothing has changed. The chess board she got from Aria when she helped her retake Omega laid on her coffee table, the picture she had of Garrus and herself still was taped on the side of the glass cases where all her model ships were laid.

“How long did it take to repair the ship?” Shepard stood with her back to the fish tank as Garrus walked to her. He placed his hands on her waist, her arms instinctively moving up his arms and resting on his shoulders.

"Not too long," he said quietly, pulling her even closer. "But too long. EDI was connected to a lot of the main systems. Mostly, all of them."

A faint smile graced Shepard's lips, “Exactly how long, Officer Vakarian.”

“Pulling rank. Ah, I've missed that. Exactly six months, Commander.”

“When you got off world, how long did the air supply last, Officer Vakarian?”

“Nine months, sevens days and thirteen hours, ma'am.”

“Liara said you were one of the last crew members in stasis?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“You did a good job, Vakarian, getting EDI up and running.”

“It was a life and death situation, Commander.”

“Officer Vakarian...when were you told that I was 'confirmed' dead?” Shepard looked up at Garrus, her lips thinned. He took a sharp breath, his eyes closing shut.

“I...A month before I entered the stasis pod.” Shepard placed a hand on Garrus' scarred mandible, rubbing her thumb lightly along the faded scar.

“I'm so sorry, Garr—” He closed the distance between their mouths and gently kissed her. It was a sweet kiss, simple and pure. Seconds later when he released her, Shepard could not keep a smile from spreading across her face. He rested his forehead against hers.

"I've been waiting a long time for that," she murmured, licking her upper lip. Garrus opened his eyes and watched Shepard look up at him through her lashes.

“ _Garrus_...” Shepard sighed, her hand trailing back up to his scarred mandible, “No more. I can't...I _can't_ lose you again.”

“No more dying?” He offered.

“No more dying, disappearing, hiding...No more being apart.” Some tears fell from Shepard's eyes, “Deal?”

Garrus threaded his talons in her hair, "Deal." And then he crushed his mouth to hers and allowed himself to kiss her with abandon. The force caused Shepard to stagger backwards, slamming into the fish tank behind her. His body was warm and solid pressing against hers. She pulled him closer and tried to concentrate on the electric sensation. His tongue pushed past the seam of her lips and she felt her legs turn into jelly. He had to position his knee between her legs and hold her up by her waist to keep her from falling against the floor. He completely devoured her mouth. His tongue tangled with hers. The kiss was so intense that Shepard had to wonder how he even controlled himself the past hour they were alone. They shared hot breaths before he descend the slope of her neck.

Shepard moaned softly as Garrus nipped at the delicate skin of her throat. Her stomach dropped when she felt his teeth scraping her neck and tongue sliding over her racing pulse. She threw her head back and allowed him to leave nips on the underside of her jaw. Her breath hitched as she felt her shirt start to be pulled up. She tried pushing him away but he somehow took this as encouragement to kiss her mouth again, long and deep kisses that made Shepard forget how to breathe. “W—Wait!” Shepard pressed her palms against Garrus' chest, pushing him back, “I...I...”

Shepard shut her eyes and shook her head, “Garrus, I—”

“It's the scars.” He didn't need Shepard to confirm what he already knew, “Shepard, I know how they found you. I know how you looked—the others, they don't. I know parts of your armor were melted onto your skin, I know how your hair was scorched and your face unrecognizable. I know what battle looks like and, hell, you were in a fucking _war_. I understood why you never wanted to show your face on the vids, I understood that you needed time.”

“And now?” Shepard mumbled, looking down to the side and hugging herself.

“What do you mean?”

“You'll be okay if I need more time?” Shepard didn't look up at him. Garrus chuckled, moving his head down to nip at her neck.

“Of course. I love you, Shepard.” Shepard laughed as Garrus nipped at her neck again, “Though, you don't mind if we just...make out a little.”

Shepard smiled, “I honestly can't say no when you speak like that, Vakarian.”

“Like what?” He's mandibles flared in wonder.

“Awkward. Bashful.” Shepard clicked her tongue, a smug smirk forcing it way on her lips, “ _Unconfident_.”

“Let me show you just how _confident_ I can be, Commander.”

 


End file.
